Marc Cabrera has nothing better to do than watch a lot of movies and television, and listen to a lot of music. Luckily, he has a job that pays him to blog about local and national arts, entertainment and pop culture. He can be reached at mcabrera@montereyherald.com.

Friday, April 20, 2012

Here's the trailer for the "A Long Shot," produced by Monterey Peninsula students in the HARA Motion Picture Conservatory.
"A Long Shot" premiers May 11 at the Performing Arts Center in Pacific Grove. For information, visit www.haramotionpictures.com.

Monday, April 16, 2012

The internets are buzzing with reports from Coachella of Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg's weekend-closing performance. The appearance of 2Pac, via digital hologram, has created the biggest stir.
As my friend Kazzeo pointed out on Facebook, hologram technology is nothing new, so the performance doesn't appear all that ground breaking.
However, I believe there are a few things to take away from this performance.
Dr. Dre has a track record of putting together elaborate stage productions, and Sunday's set may have been his personal masterpiece. The set worked as a Shady/Aftermath/G-Unit showcase, with 50 Cent, Em and 2Pac being rolled out like a fantasy hip-hop revue come to life.
The Coachella performance is another notch in the good Doctor's belt, and with 2Pac's virtual resurrection, it lends credence to Dre's capabilities as a master showman.
The hologram technology is nothing new, but with the 2Pac performance, they seem to have perfected the projections to eerily realistic levels. Watching the live feed on YouTube last night, I was struck by how defined 2Pac's hologram appeared on my non-HD screen. Everything from his toned frame to the immortal "Thug Life" tattoo were in fine detail. We've seen the hologram trick before, we not quite like this.
The big deal is that it's 2Pac, performing at Los Angeles's premier music festival, appearing in the middle of the desert like some sort of thug messiah. This will go down as a landmark moment in West Coast hip-hop.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Here's the first official promo for "Mrs. Eastwood & Co.," the upcoming reality show starring Dina Eastwood.
I'm scheduled to talk with Dina and her band, Overtone, on Tuesday. More on that later in the week.